Surprised by the election? Blame right-wing news bias

To all those who have felt angry and betrayed by the election, you have my sympathy. As a liberal Democrat, I have been there many times. I honor your passion for American democracy and look forward to constructive debate with you about the future of the country.

That debate can only happen, though, if we can agree on the facts, and for that we must all insist on responsible, unbiased news reporting. If you were shocked by the election results, blame the right-wing media-entertainment complex and what Fox News host Megyn Kelly called ''math you do as a Republican to make yourself feel better.''

Republican math gave us confident predictions of a Romney landslide. It has also spread delusions about high taxes (which are actually lower now than in the last 30 years), the value of cutting taxes on the rich (which actually does not create jobs), and the supposed failure of stimulus and debt-relief programs that actually helped the economy start to recover.